1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reproducing signals from a disc; and more particularly, for reproducing multiple camera-angle signals from a Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc (DVD).
2. Description of Related Art
A DVD is manufactured by masking image signals into digital form, and allows for many diverse functions. For instance, the image signals for multiple camera angles may be recorded on a DVD.
FIG. 2 illustrates, conceptually, the arrangement of data on a DVD. As shown, the image data representing a scene for each camera angle are grouped into angle blocks. Angle block 1, for instance, includes the image data for each camera angle of the first scene.
FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate the data format of the image data stored on the DVD. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, predetermined amounts of image data are each represented by a Video Object Set (VOB) and collectively as Video Object Sets (VOBS). A VOB consists of multiple cells of image data as shown in FIG. 3C. Each cell in a VOB corresponds to an angle block as shown in FIG. 2, and includes image data for a scene. Also, each cell consists of a plurality of Video Object Units (VOBU) as shown in FIG. 3D. Because scenes have different amounts of data, the amount of data in different cells can differ.
Each VOBU consists of a navigation packet (NV PCK), a plurality of video packets (V PCK), and an audio packet (A PCK) as shown in FIG. 3E. A navigation packet includes navigation data regarding, for instance, the video data stored in the video packets. The video data stored in video packets is encoded according to the well-known MPEG standard.
A conventional DVD reproducing apparatus reproduces the digital data recorded on a DVD. When the image signals for multiple camera angles (e.g., nine camera angles) are recorded on a DVD, a conventional DVD reproducing apparatus allows a user to select one of the images corresponding to one of the camera angles for viewing as shown in FIG. 1A. Specifically, the conventional DVD reproducing apparatus navigates from the video data for the selected camera angle in one angle block or cell to the video data for the selected camera angle in the next angle block or cell. If, the user changes camera angles, a jump is made as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3D to the video data in the next angle block or cell corresponding to the newly selected camera angle. Unfortunately, the conventional DVD reproducing apparatus does not allow simultaneous viewing of more than one camera angle.
As a result, a user must sequentially view the images corresponding to each camera angle to gain an appreciation of the differences between the camera angles. It is, however, not easy to gain an appreciation of the differences between the camera angles in this manner. Consequently, it is difficult for a user to select an optimal camera angle for viewing.